All shall be well

Remember the wonder and astonishment you used to feel as a child? How long has it been since you felt that sense of awe -- or is it even still possible to feel that any more, jaded adults that we are?

I think, like my daughter, I may have been a bit slow to become aware of social cues when I was younger. I wasn't exactly clueless, but somehow I missed picking up the subtle behavioral nuances that might have made me fit in better as an adolescent. Or maybe all of us feel a little bit that way?

At any rate, I remember a friend telling me, my freshman year in college, "Diane, you'd be so beautiful if you just didn't SMILE so much!" I just never quite mastered that jaded sophistication so critical to a successful adolescence -- and that's probably still true as I move inexorably toward my 60's. I guess I still have that toddler's capacity for awe and excitement -- and sometimes at the smallest things.

According to Wikipedia, the word passion "often applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity or love." So maybe I'm just passionate about stuff.

A fountain, for example, and the sight of children playing in it. The feel of grass or wet sand between my toes. A really good sunset, or a hug. A bouncy rock or blues tune, heard outdoors on a sunny afternoon. A kind word, a delicious meal or the joy of spending a day with old friends. The thrill of sorting through the most recent photos on my memory card and finding one that gives me the peace I found in yesterday's image...

Simple pleasures, really. And feeling them, I become giddy all over again, like a little girl in a new polka dot swimsuit, or with new pink sunglasses. At times like this, I am reminded of a quote from Saint Julian of Norwich, which someone once gave me to tape to my computer:

"All shall be well,
and all shall be well, and
all manner of thing shall be well."